Govt buys time to file reply on liquor vends on green belts

The government on Tuesday sought time till March 20 to file its reply on a notice issued to it by a city court regarding mushrooming liquor vends and ahatas (drinking places attached to vends) on green belts across the city.

The court of Civil Judge AK Jain allowed the plea of the public prosecutor for filing the reply on March 20.

The notice was issued on March 7 after a petition was filed by MCG councillor from ward number 30 Nisha Singh.

In the petition, Singh had referred to a news item which appeared in Hindustan Times on March 6 highlighting the inability of authorities in removing liquor vends from the green belt and sought a stay on the continuation of such vends.

The case assumes significance as the fresh annual bidding for liquor vends took place in the city on March 9. The new successful bidders will start running vends from April 1.

Notices were issued to the deputy commissioner, the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG), the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda), forest department, excise and taxation department and the divisional commissioner.

City residents have been demanding removal of such vends as well as those within the restricted 150-metre radius of educational institutions, religious sites and hospitals.

As the MCG has stated that green belts should be managed by Huda, the petition sought orders from the court so as “to enable effective local self governance by people of Gurgaon on activities constitutionally mandated to be done only by a constitutionally created local government, i.e. the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon.”